


The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (Roisa High School AU)

by rosemarycreampuff



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: A couple of kisses, College AU, F/F, F/M, High School AU, Internalized Homophobia, Mostly High School AU, Multi, Petramos, Powdered Donuts, according to the timeline this starts 1991, anti crime babies, buckle up boys this is gonna be a long one, i love roisa but they were toxic af and both deserve better endings, ill update the tags as we go along, jane is a huge nerd, jane takes ap lit at some point, keeping the rafael luisa 7 year age gap, krishna deserves better, luisa has mild anxiety, luisa is a huge nerd, luisanna endgame, most of the fic is luisa, mostly roisa, nadine is actually bros with susanna and michael because we need that wholesome content, no jorge because i don't like that arc that much, probably just mentions of the other characters, probably some random pairings??, probably villandero endgame, probably years in the notes above each chapter ig, rose is a theatre kid, rose lets luisa be happy, she still goes by her real name, so many powdered donuts, some rose perspective for fun, still salty about the finale, switching perspectives every 2 or so chapters, trying to do all the ships justice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-21
Packaged: 2021-01-05 13:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21209207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosemarycreampuff/pseuds/rosemarycreampuff
Summary: Luisa Alver has been in this small town near Miami, Florida for as far back as she can remember, and Clara Ruvelle is new in town, held under the clutches of her stepmother. This is a tale of soulmates and love, of falling in such love and out of it, of heartache and heartbreak, of two people who were always meant to be, yet always doomed to fail.





	1. The First Day [Luisa]

**Author's Note:**

> perspective: luisa  
year: 1991 // 14

It was Luisa’s first day of high school, and as a fourteen year old who still hadn’t experienced her first crush, she was a bit of an oddball. At this age, all the other kids were talking about dates, their crushes, their dates, their firsts, and as she walked through the halls of Marbella High School, she couldn’t help but feel left out.

Most everyone were discussing their summer tans and dates, and as much as she wished she could join in, she had absolutely nothing in common with them. So, she slinked in the corner, fumbling with her new lock as she struggled to remember the passcode she’d just written on the back of her hand the night before.

Since it was the first year she could choose her classes, she’d opted for biology and chemistry, knowing that she wanted to be a doctor. Unfortunately, there was a hijink in her plan. If she chose to take two sciences, she had to take an art. It was the school rules, balance and all that. So, since she had no talent whatsoever in art or music, she had to take drama. After all, it couldn’t be that bad, right? It was just pretending, and she was fairly good at that— when it didn’t involve her family.

Despite being just fourteen, she’d already felt like the family disappointment, since all the attention went to her brother, who, despite being just seven, was already the golden child in his father’s eyes. Perhaps it was because he had his mother’s eyes, and she was their father’s last love, or perhaps it was because she simply didn’t try.

Whatever it was, she tried to get it out of her head, as the halls cleared and the bell threatened to ring at any second. She pulled out her wrinkled schedule from her backpack, trying to get a glimpse of which class was first, and a frown appearing on her face when it was drama. Just great. Somehow, fate had granted her drama classes every Monday morning, but it didn’t matter, as she spotted chemistry and biology in a row right afterwards.

A small smile of reassurance (most for herself) surfaced, as she dashed down the halls towards the arts wing, schedule wrinkling in her hands again. She ran down the clean hallways, until she reached the black door, the words drama spelled out in silver letters.

Yanking open the door, she came face to face with a class already in motion, the students glaring over at her, the teacher sighing, it was all what she was used to, except for a pair of storm-blue eyes that stood out.

In all her years in this small area in Miami, she’d never seen such curious, sparkly blue eyes, let alone in her class. The blue eyes belonged to a red-haired girl, whose complexion was paler than a vampire, and had her legs crossed as she watched the frazzled freshman with an air of curiosity that made Luisa’s heart beat faster.

As she opened her mouth to speak, the small smirk on the blue-eyed girl’s face made her shut her mouth, as if she was teasing her that she would mess up. She did her best to ignore it, as the teacher had started to glare at her as well.

“Hi. I’m Luisa. Alver. I’m so sorry I’m late, I-I just lost track of time in the hallway, because, well, I was distracted, but that’s not the point here, and I’m so sorry, I won’t be late again.” The sapphire-eyed girl offered her a reassuring smile, as if she wasn’t impressed with Luisa’s performance, but wanted to make her feel comfortable anyways, and a smile tugged at the corner of her own lips.

The teacher let out a sigh, unclear how a student could already leave such a bad impression on them in the span of seconds. “I’m Mr. Archuletta. We’re doing a warm-up exercise.” He started, as the students took this as an invitation to continue on. “Clara will explain it to you.” He said, gesturing towards the blue-eyed girl who’d formerly smirked at her just seconds ago.

The smirk was now replaced with an obedient smile, and a nod towards the Mr. Archuletta who’d already turned his attention back to his phone, as she walked over to where Luisa was, offering a hand for her to shake.

“Clara Ruvelle, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Luisa.” The blue eyes fixated on her own, and she felt butterflies in her stomach taking flight, fluttering around as she couldn’t help but smile. Is this what the other kids felt like when they talked about their crushes? Her heartbeat slowed when she realized her father would never approve— and that was if this Clara (such a melodious name) felt the same way about her, if she wasn’t the only one with a beating heart faster than the speed of light. She tried her best to hide the red blush spreading across her cheeks as she looked down at the ground for a second, taking a deep breath. This wasn’t normal, and she was going to do whatever it took to change it.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance too, Clara.” She said, as something gave her the urge to kiss Clara’s hand, and she froze, and it seemed like the air froze as well, before the girl across from her laughed softly, like the sound of fairies tinkering on in the woods.

“You’re sweet, you know? Bet your boyfriend doesn’t deserve you.” Clara replied, with an air of confidence Luisa wish she had. Or perhaps she didn’t, perhaps she just admired it, because if she was this confidence, she’d probably have done something about the sparks that zapped at her the second her lips grazed the cold skin of the girl whose eyes she was zoning out in.

“Right, of course.” She chuckled softly, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly as she tried to lie, but it was no good. She felt just as awkward as when she tried to lie to her brother about Santa Claus not existing when it came up at dinner.

“Oh, so you’re not taken.” The other girl remarked, a finger tapping on her chin, as she seemed to drift into deep thought as well, before shaking out of it, and Luisa’s heartbeat only seemed to speed up, as if hoping Clara was zoning out on her, and not someone else.

Mr. Archuletta was sending them a glare from the front of the class, well, more specifically, Luisa, but it was subtle enough so there would be no evidence if she was to accuse him.

She tried to change the topic, despite the fact that something in her gut was begging her not to. She ignored it. “The exercise?” She inquired softly, afraid to disrupt the other girl’s train of thought, because she certainly hated it when her brother or father interrupted her mid-thought.

“Right, of course.” Clara smiled, as she proceeded to explain. “We have to play out a scenario based on a scene from any of Shakespeare’s plays, but less dramatic. To practice and test our naturalism, of course. Today, we’re doing Romeo and Juliet.” She gestured to the board, where two pages from scripts were displayed clearly. “We have to practice like we’re going to perform, and in five minutes, we’re going to perform in front of the class in a competition, best act wins a get out of detention card.”  
Luisa nodded along, pretending as if she understood a word Clara had just spoken, because, to be frank, her mind had wandered off, fantasizing about her first kiss— and letting it be taken by the gorgeous girl in front of her with the enigmatic eyes and the perfect smile— _no!_ This was wrong. She couldn’t be falling in love with a girl, what would her father say about it? What would Rafael make of it? She distracted herself as she focused on the wall behind the girl.

“Your time to practice is up!” Mr. Archuletta’s voice echoed through the black room, as if they all couldn’t have heard him a few volumes down.

Luisa looked at Clara apologetically, as the other girl dismissed it.

“We’ve got this.” The red-haired girl said, sitting down beside Luisa confidently as the class gathered around the front to watch the performances.

Mr. Archuletta glared over at Luisa, and as she shrunk under his gaze, he pointed at her, then Clara.

“You two go first. Come on.” He gestured to the blank space at the front of the classroom, as if daring the unpracticed freshmen to give it a try.

Luisa opened her mouth, as to object, before Clara pulled her out of her seat on the floor, offering her an optimistic smile. Of course, Luisa knew it was just a warm-up. But she had always been competitive, and she wanted desperately to leave a good impression on the drama teacher she was stuck with, so that she wouldn’t have a sudden slump in her grades when it came to it.

They arrived on stage, and Luisa scanned the lines up on the screen, letting out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. It wasn’t that hard, and all she had to do was make it more realistic, right?

Without question, Clara assumed the part of Romeo, as she spoke.

“But soft,” She started, kneeling upon the ground, speaking it as though they were normal words people would speak, like hello, or whatever. “What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun!”

Luisa might’ve been a little bit nervous, but she certainly wasn’t going to sabotage her own grades with such a tingly feeling in her stomach. So, she stood back a little, drawing the distance between them as if she was really on a balcony.

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? O, be some other name.” She started, looking around Clara, but the tug of a smile at the corner of her lips was caught in her peripheral vision, a surge of confidence rushing through her. “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other word would smell as sweet. Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.”

Clara moved forwards a little bit, grinning up at Luisa. Whether it was out of the script, or because she was proud of her partner for stepping up— it made Luisa feel good. “I take thee at thy word. Henceforth I never will be Romeo.” She said, her soft voice speaking the words confidently.

“I know thy sound. Art thou not Romeo, and a Montague?” Luisa said, looking into Clara’s eyes with her newfound confidence, as the world muted out around them.

“Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike.” Clara said, a boldness in her voice that made Luisa feel as if she was no longer playing the part of Romeo, as if she was really speaking to her.

“If any of my kinsmen find thee here, they will murder thee.” Her own heart sank, feeling like those words were meant for her, because if her father was to find out she looked at another girl this way, he would certainly kill her, no matter what she said. And if not, he’d disown her, no question.

“I have night’s cloak to hide me from their eyes. And but thou love me, let them find me here; my life were better ended by their hate than death prorogued, wanting of thy love.” Clara continued, oblivious to Luisa’s sudden ache in her heart, wanting to look away yet wanting to keep her grades up. The sparkle in those ocean blue eyes worried her, yet somehow made her feel right— _no!_ They were wrong, no matter what her gut was yelling at her.

That was the end of the page, she realized, as their classmates’ scattered applause knocked over her train of thought. Clara grinned at her, taking her hand. Her heart pounded in her chest, as she shook loose the other girl’s hand, quietly mumbling a request to go to the bathroom, which was instantly granted by Mr. Archuletta, glad to get rid of her.

She headed down the hallway, towards the nurse’s office as she prayed it wasn’t the medical condition her mother had coming to haunt her. She wasn’t usually this frazzled, but the fact that her heartbeat was sending her heart soaring out into outer space and her logic along with it made her realize she couldn’t stay in this class. She heard footsteps behind her, and the same soft voice she was trying to rid her mind of calling her name.

Luisa sped up, her footsteps accelerating to a run, and before she knew it, she was sliding on one of the janitor’s freshly mopped areas, resisting the urge to scream before she landed in the arms of one Clara Ruvelle.


	2. You Caught Me [Luisa]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> perspective: luisa  
year: 1991 // 14

“I had it!” Luisa exclaimed, looking up at Clara as she prayed her face wasn’t red, looking into the beautiful, clear blue eyes of the girl who’d probably just saved her from a potential concussion, all because she decided running out of the class she needed to keep her grades up was a good idea.

“If almost breaking your head on the ground on the first day of school is what you call ‘had it’, then you had it very well.” The other girl joked, offering a smile as she swept Luisa back on her feet— the exact opposite of what her heart was doing at the moment. But, jokes aside, Clara was incredibly strong for someone of her physique, as she averted her eyes away from the other girl’s arms, afraid to get caught staring for the second time in a day.

“I-I-” Luisa crossed her arms, an angry pout upon her face. On one hand, she was glad that she finally had a crush of sorts, that she wasn’t crazy, or showing signs of crazy, like her mother had been. The last thing she wanted to do was turn out like her mother, crazy and suicidal. On the other hand, she was terrified of the feelings that were rushing through her veins, as if someone had poured some sort of love inducing concoction in her, no, this wasn’t real, right? She tried her best to calm herself, taking deep breaths without giving away the fact that her heart beat had yet to slow down, despite the fact that they’d been standing in an empty hallway for what was starting to feel like forever.

“Don’t worry about it, Lu. I’ve got your back, you know?” Somehow, something gave this girl the urge to give Luisa a nickname, in the total of ten minutes of meeting her, and making her situation for the rest of the year harder. Clara looked at her expectantly, as if waiting for a declaration of love as well,— as if Luisa would ever say such a thing to anyone. Whatever these sparks that flew between them were, she had to shut them down, because she knew for a fact that Clara wasn’t blind, and she feared that the taller girl, no, knew that the taller girl would act on these feelings, or whatever they were, even though there was no way it would work, because she would shut them down before they did any damage to what her father thought of her, as if that wasn’t already damaged enough.

_I don’t need your help_ was her only thought, it was on the tip of her tongue, but as much as she wanted to say it, the words couldn’t seem to leave her mouth, hiding away, for fear that she’d lose her only friend within ten (probably eleven now) minutes of meeting her.

She crossed her arms, in an attempt to look a bit more threatening, as if she wasn’t the one who slipped on a slippery floor while running away from her own feelings. She decided on not replying, knowing there was no way she could make the situation better. So, she continued down the hall as the red-haired girl trailed after her.

To be frank, Luisa didn’t mind her company, the sound of Clara’s slightly heeled shoes clicking upon the floors somewhat of a relief. It was the feelings she minded. The fact that she couldn’t seem to slow her rapidly increasing heartbeat or the butterflies in her stomach didn’t just make her near nauseous, it made her scared— because she’d never been able to contain her feelings, she tried her best— but this, this was different. It was like a flood of red (not blood), ready to gush out at any moment if she were to open her mouth.

“Lu?” The soft voice came from behind her, and despite the fact that it was a nickname she didn’t want, it was starting to make itself at home in Luisa’s ears, she wanted so badly to hate it. Because if she did, she could easily avoid Clara— and with a reason. She sighed softly, turning around to face the taller girl.

“Mmhmm?” She replied, crossing her arms again. The height gap and the red hair and blue eyes made Luisa feel small, and crossing her arms made her feel more...assertive, well, less small, at least.

“You’ve lived here all your life, correct?” The taller girl said, skidding to a halt as Luisa stood still, arms crossed.

“Mhmm. Why?” Luisa replied, lifting an eyebrow. She either wanted a tour of the town, or...or…there wasn’t much else to do with that knowledge, and yet, she felt nervous about the question.

Sure, it was said in the same tone as the rest of the discussion, but something about it felt off. They had been talking about, well, nothing, but the question— she shook it out of her head. Perhaps it was because in that moment, Clara had taken her hand into hers, and looked into her eyes, as if about to ask her something important. And (curse her) her heartbeat sped up, until she could barely breathe, as the girl held her warm hand in her cold palms.

“I was wondering if you could show me around, you know? Since I’m new.” Clara said, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off Luisa’s chest.

She didn’t know why, but she’d thought that there would be some huge secret, like she was a vampire or a witch, but, no, it was just another girl— that she was totally head over heels falling in love with (not that she’d ever tell anyone, her father’s name would be at risk), who was asking her if she could show her around. She opened her mouth to speak, trying to culminate a reply, but shut it when she realized she had no idea what would burst out at the moment. So, she nodded, with a grin, and prayed that Clara would let go of her hand, because goodness, her hand was cold.

“Thank you.” The taller girl said, with a smile, as they continued to head to the bathroom.

“Always.” Luisa responded, struggling to keep up with the girl who strode faster than she could keep up with (not to mention the ten centimeter gap). She rolled up the sleeves of her jacket, it was getting kind of warm in the hallway as they headed down towards the bathroom at the end.

It felt like forever as they arrived at the front of the door of the girl’s bathroom. It wasn’t that quiet, but all Luisa could hear was the sound of the word “always” echoing in her head. What was it that made her say that? The blue eyes bearing into hers? Or the fact that it wasn’t her brain with its hands on her steering wheel anymore? Or the fact that she shouldn’t have felt this way about a girl, it wasn’t only uncontrollable, but it was something society (and her dad) frowned upon, which could only have meant it wasn’t natural, right?

She glanced over at the redheaded girl, squeezing her eyes shut as she looked down onto the floor, praying, no, hoping, that she would wake up the next morning and these feelings would be gone, like they’d never been here in the first place. These…feelings, they were something she’d been waiting to have for as long as she could remember— just not this way.

What happened in the bathroom was nothing out of the ordinary, a blur to Luisa as she drowned in her own thoughts.

As she washed her hands in the bubbly water, she took a deep breath, looking into the mirror. Into her tired eyes and the saggy bags beneath them, her messy brown hair, flying all over the place, coming to rest on her shoulders, of an age old fake smile that she was sure she could fake in her sleep by now.

And it wasn’t that she hated Clara. She hated herself, for having these feelings, for her heart beating faster than the speed of light as they both headed back down the hallway towards the drama classroom. By now, she was sure the class had passed by, leaving Mr. Archuletta mad at her and her last impression on the class as a stuttering Juliet. The hallways seemed to stretch on forever as they walked side by side quietly, the silence between them speaking for them both.

“Have you ever lived in any place interesting? You know, besides my tiny town.” Luisa blurted, unable to bear the silence any longer. She knew for a fact that she would hate herself in the future, in fact, give it three minutes, and she’d probably regret it. But, she was interested in learning more about the other girl. Maybe she’d learn that the girl was a psychopath, or a sociopath. Maybe she’d just see through the veil of fantasy she had no doubt she was holding over the other girl. Or maybe, she’d realize her fantasies were just jealousy, of some sort.

Clara chuckled, and Luisa found her ears yearning for more of that same sound, the delightful sound of laughter that pulled at her lips for a smile. She cast her eyes down at the tile floors, praying her face wouldn’t betray her.

“Nowhere worth noting. The towns were mostly quiet, the cities too loud to hear myself thinking. But, there was a really nice diner in one of the cities, the macaroni and cheese was to die for.” She replied, with a grin.

“Well, I’ll have you know, there is a nice diner nearby, Viento. The food there, especially the grilled beets, and the barbecue fries.” Luisa said, raising her eyes up from the floor to catch Clara’s nose wrinkling.

“I swear, it’s better than it sounds.” She added, throwing her hands up. “My brother didn’t believe me either, but boy did those sweet potato fries convince him otherwise. I promise, you’ll love it there.”

“Lu, are you asking me on a date? Already?” Clara replied, an overdramatic expression of shock overtaking her body.

Despite the fact that it was probably a joke, she bit her tongue. She knew that the feelings that she had for Clara were unnatural, and as she worked to rid of them, Clara was not making it any easier. Luisa couldn’t believe herself. She was usually the cocky one, the most confident one in all her friends, and yet, here she was, praying her face wasn’t as red as well, no matter how cliché, a tomato. She shook her head, casting her eyes down on the suddenly interesting marble floor. Even if she didn’t feel the same, she couldn’t shut the new girl out, just because of her own stupid feelings— it wasn’t a wise idea in this shark eat shark pool of the children in the town.

So, she pulled her eyes back up, and looking into those crystal blue eyes, she blanked out for a second, before clawing back at herself. _Focus!_ Realizing Clara was still watching her with the back of her hand on her forehead, she knew she couldn’t let the taller girl down.

So, she mimicked the expression, only slightly more depressive.

“Unfortunately, today is not your lucky day, Clara Ruvelle.” She replied, as they neared the black door with the sparkly letters. Luisa peered into the classroom from the window slot, a grin on her face when she realized class was almost over.

Clara took Luisa by the shoulders, spinning her around to face her, as Luisa struggled to keep a calm face.

“How’s tomorrow? After school?” She asked, those sparkling blue eyes looking into hers, firm, yet gentle.

Luisa wasn’t quite sure what to say, as they stood in front of the drama door, her shoulders held captive by the hands of the red-haired girl who was staring her down right at the moment. So, what else could she do but nod?

Holding out her pinky finger, she held it up, between the taller girl’s eyes. She knew they weren’t eight and at a sleepover, but it felt right, and who was she to fight against normal feelings?

“Swear on it?” Luisa asked, looking the other girl in the eyes. Clara locked her pinky with Luisa’s, eyeing her with a grin.

“I promise.” Clara replies, shaking Luisa’s pinky with a firm hold and a grin to match that.

Luisa grinned, feeling like the day was just about to get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking so long! school got in the way.
> 
> next chapter is the long-awaited peeksie into rose's head! stay tuned :)


End file.
